SO NOW YOU HAVE YOUR LICENSE

Amateur Radio is Public Service, that's what it's all about, all the rest is fun. The fun part trains us to be ready to perform emergency radio communications when the need arises, PUBLIC SERVICE.

Just what is PUBLIC SERVICE? Well, in relation to Amateur Radio it usually centers around Ares/Races. Generally speaking, it means an emergency response of some type.


What is Emergency Response? Well it could be many different activities. To list a few, one would be Shelter Communicator; you provide communication if other forms of communications fail and after event communications that an agency may wish to conduct. Activities for the community as directed by the EC (Emergency Coordinator)

Sit and listen or monitor your radio on one or more frequencies. Be ready to help in any way you can.

Another way to provide Public Service is to be a Radio Club Volunteer. Many communities have a radio club. Most clubs are made up of amateurs who are ARES members, but the club is a separate entity.

Another activity might be to become active in Radio Club operations. This might involve you in a Sky Warn program, a Red Cross communication activity, or as a Club Officer. All clubs need committee members to keep the club running effectively. One area that always needs volunteers is the schools where we will get our new and young members. As you advance in license class, you might become eligible to become a Volunteer Testing Aid. The list is endless. Sometimes active participations are not possible due to health or job considerations. This does not mean that you will be excluded from public service. Some of the things that might fit into this scenario are just listening to a net, or keeping the radio on and monitoring the frequency for trouble calls or interference. Each club needs someone to monitor 146.520 for emergency calls and visitors new to the area. I have found many good places to eat in a new city by putting out a call on 146.520 or the local repeater frequency while traveling.
Each club needs a licensed ham to monitor the local repeaters for trouble and interference. Each club needs someone to visit other clubs to bring back good ideas. Each successful club needs some one to Elmer new members on the radio as well as answer questions on the phone. (An Elmer, one who helps Newbies) Newsletter editors always are looking for articles and would love to have someone feed them interesting articles gathered from the inter net or magazines. You might want to learn about a radio mode and report on it in the newsletter or report about it on the local net. You might just listen to the local and area nets. All the above is public service.

As you gain experience on the air, you might wish to try your hand at a net control position for an evening or an extended period. You might start a new net, one that really interests you. You would be surprised how easy it is. There are lot a of people who would help out and get you started.
One of the things that I found interesting and enjoyable was researching and making simple antennas for new hams. Anything is better than those rubber ducks. This is public service.

Set a goal, No matter how small

START

Read a magazine

Listen to a net

Turn on you radio

Do Something


Here are the official definitions of the two major Public Services organizations in Amateur Radio

ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service)
RACES (Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service)

ARES and RACES both consist of large groups of Amateur Radio Operators who volunteer their own radio equipment and time to assist state and federal agencies during emergencies. While RACES operates under the authority of a state or federal government agency, ARES is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)and is entirely an Amateur operation. Technically, RACES is a government entity administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and provides communications for civil preparedness purposes only, during periods of local, regional or national civil emergencies.

ARES and RACES operations are authorized and governed by FCC Rules and Regulations; however, a RACES call-up requires an official request by a state or a federal official and is strictly limited to official civil preparedness activities or actual emergency situations. A RACES communications net is activated only when requested by an official of a local, state or national government agency while ARES nets may be activated by any ARES member.

ARES may be called into action long before any emergency actually exists and may operate long after the emergency is over fulfilling additional communications needs as warranted.

Another difference between RACES and ARES is the fact that most RACES communications tend to be concentrated on the VHF-UHF bands, while most ARES communications traffic is handled on shortwave frequencies, UHF, VHF, Amateur TV, Packet, APRS, CB and anything needed or available. Also, RACES operations usually involve city-wide or county-wide area operations while ARES nets tend to be local, statewide, national or international in scope.

Since ARES is sponsored by the ARRL, the entire resource of the ARRL National Traffic System (NTS) is automatically a part of the ARES and can be accessed quickly if needed. For example, ARES handled most of the emergency and health/welfare traffic following the Mexico City earthquakes.


Public Service is what it is all About.